Variable 6 Speed Dial: 2,500 to 6,500rpm apparently.
Im not worried about that tbh just if it can actually be attached to a da
Im not worried about that tbh just if it can actually be attached to a da
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3M Headlight correction + clean pics
- Thread starter wilyoldave
- Start date
Well I have had the 172 for a month now - Ive fitted an alloy foot rest, KN panel filter, clear repeaters and my old JVC headunit, but today I tackled one of the things that was bugging me the most!
The headlights! they were crap.....really spoiled the front of the car.
So after looking at various options decided to have a go myself with the 3M headlight correction kit (£19 ebay!)
So masked them up.
500 grit....
800 grit....
P3000 Trizact....
Polished....
Finished and car cleaned....
Overall very pleased with the results - headlights look really good now.
Few tips:-
1 Double mask around the edges,
2 Cover up everything you can when doing it as s**t goes everywhere!
3 Take your time, dont push to hard! I probably spent more time sanding than you really need to but the results were definitely worth it.
Overall the best £19 ive spent in a long while and tbh it was a a simple process to obtain amazing results
how long did you sand on each grit mate
awesome job by the way
also what drill speed
ST TDCI
Hi mate - roughly 10-15 min per stage - just take your time and go easy round the edges - it is easy for it to kick and you could mark the paintwork.
I used a 1500 rpm cordless but run both batteries out before I could finish both lights, then I used a corded drill rate at 3100 rpm but it had variable speed control so I just wound it down till it looked like the same speed as the cordless.
Best tip is just take your time especially round the edges, and dont press to hard and keep it moving. Good luck and post some pics up!
I used a 1500 rpm cordless but run both batteries out before I could finish both lights, then I used a corded drill rate at 3100 rpm but it had variable speed control so I just wound it down till it looked like the same speed as the cordless.
Best tip is just take your time especially round the edges, and dont press to hard and keep it moving. Good luck and post some pics up!
will soon but i have to do this for my phase 1 172 lights so..... see how it goes
I have just used my 3M kit and thought I would feedback what I found when using it.
1. I found even with the area masked off, the sanding discs still managed to cut 'slice' through the masking tape and scratch the paintwork. This is because the sanding discs are a little bit to big for the mounting wheel basically leaving a extruding paper blade. I suggest cutting one of the discs down to size and using this around the outside of the light near the masked off paintwork. doing this allowed me to get right to he edge of the light without having to worry. (I cut down 1 disc of each grade for each side)
2. I found the sandpaper clogs up very quickly. If you let it clog up, it becomes a lot less efficient, so regularly unclog it using your hand.
3. Make sure you remove the complete protective layer of the lens else you will get these odd shadows once polished. You will know what I mean by the protective layer when your sanding as it is very noticeable.
4. Make sure you cover up your engine bay, else it will get messy very quickly!
Although the kit made my headlights look better than they were (they were in a right state probably a bit worse than the OP lights were), the end result form this kit is not brilliant. I personally think the jump from P800 sand paper to P3000 is to much, and as a result you cannot (without hours of using the P3000) remove all the scratch's from the P800 paper. I think using a P1500 and even a P2000 in between would improve the result ten fold.
I personally wont be using/buying the kit again, I found the disc head hard to control in a drill and like above, the finished result is not the best. Instead, I think I will be using a da sander which give much better control and will allow me to use more in-between grades of paper. I did quick like the polishing head, so I will probably be re-using this.
p.s I used my cordless drill, but I hooked it up to the car battery as I was doing it for well over an hour (probably more like an hour each side tbh).
1. I found even with the area masked off, the sanding discs still managed to cut 'slice' through the masking tape and scratch the paintwork. This is because the sanding discs are a little bit to big for the mounting wheel basically leaving a extruding paper blade. I suggest cutting one of the discs down to size and using this around the outside of the light near the masked off paintwork. doing this allowed me to get right to he edge of the light without having to worry. (I cut down 1 disc of each grade for each side)
2. I found the sandpaper clogs up very quickly. If you let it clog up, it becomes a lot less efficient, so regularly unclog it using your hand.
3. Make sure you remove the complete protective layer of the lens else you will get these odd shadows once polished. You will know what I mean by the protective layer when your sanding as it is very noticeable.
4. Make sure you cover up your engine bay, else it will get messy very quickly!
Although the kit made my headlights look better than they were (they were in a right state probably a bit worse than the OP lights were), the end result form this kit is not brilliant. I personally think the jump from P800 sand paper to P3000 is to much, and as a result you cannot (without hours of using the P3000) remove all the scratch's from the P800 paper. I think using a P1500 and even a P2000 in between would improve the result ten fold.
I personally wont be using/buying the kit again, I found the disc head hard to control in a drill and like above, the finished result is not the best. Instead, I think I will be using a da sander which give much better control and will allow me to use more in-between grades of paper. I did quick like the polishing head, so I will probably be re-using this.
p.s I used my cordless drill, but I hooked it up to the car battery as I was doing it for well over an hour (probably more like an hour each side tbh).
